


Care about me like you do

by dreamfleet, mezmerize



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M, Professor Poe, Teacher-Student Relationship, Veterans
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-26
Updated: 2016-10-31
Packaged: 2018-08-27 01:53:38
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 16,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8383342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamfleet/pseuds/dreamfleet, https://archiveofourown.org/users/mezmerize/pseuds/mezmerize
Summary: "Fall stupidly in love" was not actually among Poe's goals for this semester, but here he is.





	1. September

Poe’s already finished with his coffee and he’s only gotten through five of the fifteen papers he’s supposed to grade by tomorrow’s class.

If Jake misspells calculus one more time, his next drink is going to have to be entirely rum instead of just a third. Grumbling, Poe flips back to page one to write down the final score—42%, the worst yet—and slides it to the very small pile of finished. Sure, it’s only a couple weeks into the semester, but these aren’t even long papers and Poe’s definitely covered all of the material. This shouldn’t be happening.

“Okay,” he murmurs to himself, “I believe in you guys, c’mon.” Flipping to the next paper, Poe reads the name and immediately smiles.

Halfway down the first page, there’s a soft knock on his door. Before Poe has a chance to say anything, it creaks slowly open. “Professor Dameron?”

“No, you can’t make up the paper anymore, you had your—” he glances up halfway through the sentence and stops with a grin. “Finn! Hey, buddy, I just got to your assignment. Looking good. What’s up?”

“Um,” Finn steps into the room, looking a little nervous. His green button-up is open at the front, showing a tight white T-shirt underneath, molding over his muscles. His jeans are tight around his thighs and he looks a bit like he just woke up with scruff covering his cheeks and his eyes are a little bloodshot. “Is it good? I worked hard on it.”

“Haven’t read that much, but you have a strong intro paragraph and that’s always a good sign,” Poe assures him with a smile. Finn’s one of his better students. He always has an answer, speaks more clearly than half the class, and-- Poe felt terrible about this until Jess told him she had a minor crush on one of her lab students-- hot as hell, with his sweater-vests and his self-satisfied smile when he gets answers right. “You don’t have anything to worry about.”

“Uh, good,” Finn says. He hovers for a moment, then drops down onto the chair across from Poe, his hands twisting together in his lap.

Poe lifts his brows and caps his pen. Papers rustle as he leans forward on his elbows-- he had to shove his shirt up again today after getting ink on his sleeves for maybe the fifth time, and Poe really needs to remember not to wear his nice shirts when he’s gonna be grading.

Finn really does look nervous. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah! Yeah, everything’s great,” Finn smiles. It’s a little strained. His eyes keep flickering between his paper and Poe. “How are you?”

“I’m,” Poe doesn’t remember a student ever asking that before. It makes him smile. Finn is one of the more thoughtful students he’s ever taught. He helps the students around him, sometimes, during their work sessions when Poe can’t get to them.

Grinning ruefully, Poe holds up his papers. “Working through these papers, somehow. Might be up ‘til 2. Would obviously rather be home on a Sunday, but what are you gonna do? Someone has to do it, and I’m not cool enough to get a grad assistant,” he laughs. Finn swallows, shoulders going tight like he wants to say something, and Poe’s smile drops. “Are you really alright, Finn? I promise your grade’s gonna be fine,” as if Finn could ever be worried about that, but maybe he doesn’t know. “You had a 98 percent last time I checked, and I’m pretty sure that’s the highest in the class."

“Oh, I know. I’m doing well. I like your class. A lot,” Finn shifts in his seat. “It, uh, I,” he takes a breath and grins, “I kinda missed you.”

Finn’s smile warms up his face. Poe’s caught himself staring in class, when Finn gets a question right and grins that satisfied, slightly-surprised grin so wide it gives him dimples.

Staring like he is now, watching the light in Finn’s eyes, watching him relax into his chair. “Well, you’re welcome to hang out here while I grade.” It’s an impulsive offer but Poe’s attention was flagging anyway, and his coffee has just started to wear off, and anyway: he loves getting to know his students. Makes it easier to teach them, help them out if they need it.

“Yeah? Okay. Yeah, I’d like to. Is it weird because you’re grading my paper?” Finn sits up, his expression too earnest.

“I promise to keep my commentary to myself,” Poe laughs, and reaches over to yank his headphones free of his computer. Shitty, sugary pop blasts into the air. Fuck, how had Poe forgotten he was listening to this? He grins over at Finn. “It’s, uh. It’s the best grading music.”

“I like it,” Finn says, and he looks almost shy when he looks at Poe. His hands are in his lap and his smile quirks on one side.

Of course. Finn strikes him as the kind of guy who lets people do most things without judgment-- and Poe doesn’t know where he’s getting that, but he does know he’s a great judge of character, so he’ll go with it. Finn looks more relaxed already. “Settle in, buddy. Actually,” he glances back down at Finn’s paper, “you wanna look over this with me?”

“Sure,” Finn scoots the old chair Poe stole from the astronomy lab in, leaning over the desk, “it’s not like I’ve read it before or anything.”

That surprises a laugh out of Poe as he picks his pen back up. At least it isn’t his favorite-- the absurdly pink and glittery one Jess got for him as a joke when he got the full-time teaching position. That would be a little much. “Right, yeah, smartass. When would you have done that?” He glances up at Finn with a smile. “You have some good stuff in here.”

“Okay,” Finn reaches out to pull the paper a little closer to himself. “What’s this one?” The pads of his fingers brush the bit of Poe’s handwriting near the top of the page.

Poe feels his ears heat up for, arguably, no reason at all. Finn is very close. He can hear the slow, easy tide of his breath. “’Loving this so far, great sentence,’” he reads aloud, and glances up at Finn. Mistake: he’s very close, and his eyes are warm and soft and a little hazy, focused on Poe as he talks.

It would be so easy.

Swallowing around the impulse to lean forward, Poe says, a bit hoarse, “You have a really nice way of phrasing things.”

“Thanks,” Finn murmurs, his eyes trailing from Poe back down to his paper. His breath, this close, smells like champagne and orange juice. Poe can’t blame him-- he spiked his morning coffee with sugary liqueur like the classy human being he definitely is.

“And this bit,” he says, and points at one of the quotes to keep himself from staring at the sweep of Finn’s eyelashes along his cheek as he blinks, because, inappropriate, Dameron, get your shit together.

Finn looks up at him with a loose smile that Poe can’t look away from. “Yeah?” He asks, his voice dropping lower. “What about it?” Maybe, Poe thinks a little desperately, maybe that’s Finn’s morning voice, what he sounds like just waking up with pillow creases on his face and the sheets tangled around him and god, he needs to stop. Back to the quote. What had he pointed out? Poe has to read it again, and oh, yes-- that sentence that had caught his breath, a little, beautifully worded.

“You have this gorgeous intro sentence,” Poe breathes, “and your ideas are clear but I think you get,” his finger slides down to the quote again, “kind of lost, here, in what you’re trying to support.”

“Oops,” Finn says softly, eyes skimming over the words. “Yeah. Definitely. Full disclosure, I edited this at three am.” He smiles a bit at Poe, and Poe grins helplessly back

“Full disclosure: I wrote the prompt at 4,” he laughs. “Turns out being a professor is a lot like being a student. Still have to convince people you know what you’re talking about.”

“You totally sound like you know what you’re talking about,” Finn tells him earnestly, his fingers twitching on the paper. Poe’s smile widens.

“Fooled one of you, at least.” Poe flips the page over, his fingers brushing Finn’s as they pass. It shouldn’t send electricity arcing along his skin but it does. Finn leans over his desk, watching Poe with warm dark eyes. His eyes curve up with his smile. In the span of a breath, he’s even closer, half-sprawled over Poe’s desk.

“I like listening to you,” Finn says, soft and low, holding Poe’s gaze.

Poe bites at his lip and clutches the pen a little tighter to keep himself from doing something dumb like reaching out to touch Finn’s hand again.

He should look away.

He doesn’t.

“Good,” Poe says breathlessly. “Had a lot of boring professors in my day. I strive to be nothing like them.”

“You’re not,” Finn smiles and reaches up to touch Poe’s jaw, just a brush of fingers but Poe can feel them like Finn’s fingertips are fire. “But I, I might be biased. Might not be that objective.”

Poe’s stomach swoops, turning over in his belly. He parts his lips, but nothing comes out. Finn’s hand is on his jaw, and he’s so close, leaning over the desk with papers crumpling a bit under his elbows. Poe mumbles “Finn,” and presses his mouth shut again.

The word draws Finn’s attention to his lips. His breath is loud in the still air. Finn shifts closer, eyes moving back to Poe’s. He hesitates for a second, then smiles quiet and brilliant and kisses Poe.

It’s barely anything: close-lipped and chaste and soft, and still it bolts straight through Poe down his bones, makes him gasp quietly and push closer before he realizes: the champagne on Finn’s breath, and Finn’s paper between them with Poe’s notes still on it. Finn’s lips are full and soft and Poe wants to chase the hint of orange juice into his mouth but he’s grading Finn’s paper. Poe pulls away with a tiny trapped sound. “Finn—”

Finn smiles hazily at him. As his fingers slide into Poe’s hair, Poe chokes off another protest under his breath and lets himself be kissed a second time with hands in his hair and his own hand wrapped around Finn’s wrist, feeling his fluttering pulse just under Poe’s fingertips--

“Finn,” Poe interrupts, pulling away just slightly. Warm breath slips over Poe’s skin. He is too-aware of his mouth, damp and tingling like it’s a damn movie. He had a reason for stopping Finn and can’t remember it so he drags up the first thing he can think of, champagne-breath on his lips, “You’ve been drinking, you—” His voice comes out thin, more desperate than he wants it to. When was the last time someone kissed him? Poe can’t remember. His head spins. Why did Finn kiss him?

Finn frowns slightly. Poe wants to kiss it off his lips. He looks like a kicked puppy. “I haven’t been drinking that much. I,” he sucks in a breath and sits back in the chair. His expression scrunches up, nose wrinkling, “maybe I have.”

“You have,” Poe tells him quietly. He’s still trying to catch his breath. Finn’s lips are so soft. That isn’t something Poe needed to know. (He doesn’t think he’s going to forget it.) “And. I’m still, I’m teaching you.” Maybe Finn really was worried about his grade, but that doesn’t seem like him, it doesn’t seem like that easy confidence from class like he knows he knows what he’s talking about.

Maybe Poe really is too touchy with his students. He needs to look into that.

Letting out a breath, Finn nods, his eyes dropping to the desk. “I’m sorry. That was, it was inappropriate.”

He looks so sad, hunched down like that with his shoulders bowed. Poe’s first impulse to reach out and touch him, ease that, is not one he can follow. He curls his fingers into his own jacket and says, quietly, “A little.” And then, because he’s never been great at holding his tongue when he should and the curiosity burns, “why?”

“Why?” Finn repeats slowly, his gaze trailing up Poe’s chest to meet his eyes again. Poe feels exposed. He swallows again as Finn says, low and earnest like a punch to the gut, “You… you’re captivating. I’m so, so attracted to you.”

He means it.

Poe makes a tiny noise in his throat, feeling a little like Finn grabbed him and kissed him all over again. Maybe that’s just what he wants to do. He can feel the burning heat in his ears and his cheeks. “Oh.”

Finn’s smile slowly grows again, soft and easy. Poe really shouldn’t have asked. Poe is terrible at doing things he should. “I’m glad I got to kiss you,” Finn says. “At least once.”

It sounds so final, even through Finn’s quiet smile. Poe wants to reach out and trace the shape of it with his fingertips.

He refrains.

Barely.

“You, uh. You still have my class. For the semester,” he says, half to remind himself, and tries to smile wide and friendly to put that between them again: professor and student. No crossed lines. It feels forced, but Poe laughs a little anyway. “Talking like you’re never gonna see me again.”

“No,” Finn says wistfully, dropping back in the chair, his eyes watching Poe’s lips move. “No, I’ll see you. I’ll sit in the front of your class and think about touching you.”

Poe’s throat goes dry. “Has that, uh. Have you been.” Fuck. He shouldn’t be asking this. There are papers to grade. But he’s a little buzzed himself and Finn is staring at his mouth like he wants to kiss Poe all over again.

“Thinking about it? Yeah,” Finn nods slowly, his gaze burning through Poe like a touch. “I listen to what you say, yeah, but I also think about what your lips feel like and how you’d sound if, uh,” he laughs sheepishly. Poe has to close his eyes against that look. No one’s focused that look on him, no one attractive, in longer than Poe can remember. That’s his own fault: he threw himself into his work and his friends and it was fine.

But he has to remind himself again and again that Finn is his student, and Poe can’t take him up on all the things that low voice is promising no matter how tempted he is. (He is very tempted.)

Shifting up slowly, Finn continues, just loud enough for Poe to hear, “if you ever want to, I do.” Then he shakes his head, “if I’m making you uncomfortable, I’m sorry. I’ll stop. I’ll sit in the back of class. Had to take the shot.”

“No,” Poe says, too quickly, with his tongue thick in his mouth, and then he has to trip over his own words to explain the rush to speak: “You don’t have to sit in the back.” Finn is one of the brighter students in his class, listening to what Poe says like he actually cares, arguing over answers brilliantly because he actually understands the material and Poe can’t lose that.

“Okay,” Finn breathes, a little wide-eyed, “okay. Nothing happened, right?”

“Nothing,” Poe echoes faintly. He offers Finn a tentative smile, leans back in his chair to put some distance between them. “Don’t worry about it, okay? Just, just do your best.”

“Thanks. I’m really. I hope I didn’t make this, y’know. I don’t do this,” Finn presses his hands together. Poe believes him. Maybe that’s naive, but Finn is looking at him with earnest eyes and still-hunched shoulders, and so: Poe believes him.

“You’re fine,” he tells Finn. “Maybe don’t get tipsy before visiting people’s office hours. I did once and I’m pretty sure I left expelled from the class.”

Laughing, Finn shakes his head, “yeah. Maybe. It felt like a good idea.”

“Everything does after a couple glasses of champagne,” Poe says wryly. “That’s how most of my impulse Amazon purchases happen.” He knows, distantly, that he should be firmer right now: ushering Finn out and telling him not to let that happen again, that it’s inappropriate to act on it even if it’s fine to feel it. But Finn’s smiling and laughing again, and it starts a warm glow in Poe’s chest to be the one doing it.

“That would’ve been a better route,” Finn says ruefully. “I, uh, I’ll leave you to it. I guess. I hope this doesn’t affect my grade. If it does, I’d understand.” He seems almost sober now, the haze gone, expressions serious.

“It’s not going to affect anything,” Poe promises him. “No way. Alright? Seriously, don’t worry. It happens.” He thinks back to his first semester teaching, love letters left by a starstruck student who’d probably never been taught by anyone close to her own age.

“Does it?” Finn asks with a snort. Slowly, he shifts to his feet. “Okay. I guess I’ll, uh, go back to brunch.”

“You abandoned brunch to come watch me grade papers?” Poe asks. He can’t quite keep the surprise from his voice.

“Uh. Yeah.” Finn shoves his hands in the pockets of his jeans. “I really like you, Professor.”

Poe bites his lip and glances away from the honesty in his eyes. “I’m… honored, and, uh-- you should definitely be at brunch, not hanging out in a lame professor’s office,” even to kiss that same professor until his thoughts scramble from his head like so many birds.

“I’d rather have both,” Finn says with a small smile. Poe’s eyes stick on it for a second before he remembers: no. “Good luck.”

“Thanks,” Smiling, Poe reaches for the pen again. He doesn’t remember dropping it. “Only 16 more to get through.”

“You’ll do it,” Finn tells him, “I’ll see you Monday.”

He turns on his heel and walks out of Poe’s office.

Poe doesn’t finish the rest of his grading.

 

* * *

 

 

“You got it!” Poe laughs, lifting up his hand for a high-five, which Cara reluctantly gives him. She’s consistently been one of the worse students in their quizzes, and even so early in the semester-- Poe just wants to make sure no one gets lost.

Poe also needs a distraction from thinking endlessly about one of his best students with a bright confident grin and soft lips and fingers that Poe can’t stop imagining trailing over his skin.

“I didn’t have a strong foundation in math,” she admits to him a moment later, her soft voice low. Poe nods at her to continue. After a moment, she smiles at him and drags the paper back across the desk to herself. “I, uh-- I’m only here because it’s part of my pharmacy degree, even though I don’t really get why I need…”

The sun slants over her hair. It’s a pretty dyed red color, auburn at the roots like the t-shirt Finn was wearing today and fuck, Poe really needs to stop thinking about him. He was barely even able to look at Finn in class today, too aware of every one of his movements, of the way Finn’s eyes follow him across the room. At one point Poe had bent over his desk to grab his dropped ruler and immediately straightened back up to catch Finn’s eyes flicking away.

Worse: Poe didn’t even have to bend down. There’s a part of him showing off for Finn, he’s noticed, and no matter what he does he can’t make himself stop no matter how inappropriate it is. He’s just lonely, since he had to put Shay down, and a blind man would have to admit Finn was hot based on his voice alone.

It’ll be fine. It won’t happen again.

And Cara is looking a little worried because he hasn’t responded, so Poe shakes his head, laughing. “Sorry, sorry! I just-- how about we find a way to relate this back to your major, huh? Also, pharmacy, impressive.” He flashes her a grin, trying to bring that smile back.

“Thanks,” she says, shy, and Poe grins when it works. Her smile is big, and like Finn’s transforms her whole face, lighting up those pretty eyes that Finn has.

Poe is not doing well on his resolution not to think about Finn.

Maybe he needs to call Jess and Kare. They’re good distractions, usually, and know how to get him out of his own head now that he can’t get off the ground and fly them away.

“Don’t worry,” he tells Cara, who’s still looking nervous. “That’s why I’m here, right? Build up your foundation. Just don’t get intimidated by it. It’s only math. You control it.” He waves his fingers at her. Cara laughs, again, relaxing back into her chair. “Next problem? If you can do it in half the time, we’ll break early and go get coffee.”

Challenge glints in Cara’s eyes. “I can do that.”

“I believe you,” Poe tells her, and manages not to think about Finn for the rest of their tutoring session.

Poe counts it as a victory and resolves to text Jess and Kare later anyway, if only to avoid spending another solo night in his tiny creaky-floored apartment thinking about everything he could have with Finn if things were different.

 

* * *

 

Poe gets drunk with Jess and Kare and spends the night talking about the stars and the colonization of space and the physical reality of how their world is turning into real-life Star Trek, and starts, slowly, to feel like himself again.

On Wednesdays all his classes are late, and so Poe drags himself out bed at 10:30 after a very intense dream about all the different shades Finn’s voice can achieve with Poe’s mouth on his cock and works out his frustration for an hour and a half at the gym.

It’s the most he’s worked out in weeks. Maybe all this Finn-induced frustration is good for him.

When he gets back, Poe feels a little more centered, so he cooks himself lunch and calls his dad like he’s been promising to for weeks.

“Hey, dad,” he shoulders the phone, carefully stirring the pasta sauce. “How’s it going? Sorry I’m so late.”

“I didn’t expect anything else,” Kes says with laughter in his voice, and Poe rolls his eyes. “Ungrateful.”

“Only son you’ve got,” Poe tells him cheerfully. “So you better talk nice to me.”

Somewhere in the background, the kettle boils. His dad is almost always making some kind of tea, turned onto it by Shara. He’s never been able to kick the habit.

Poe still remembers sitting up in their sprawling kitchen with the steam curling his hair around his ears and the scent of mint sharp in the air.

“Or what, you’ll call slightly more often?” Poe can hear the raised eyebrow through the phone, practically, and snorts.

“You treasure me.”

“Something like that, sure,” Kes grumbles. Poe laughs, bright and easy, and flicks off the burner as the pot starts bubbling. Kes’ kettle whistles long and low, a discordant note it’s had since Poe threw it against the wall in a fit of 16-year-old rage.

“Kettle’s boiling.”

“I hear it, I hear it. Hey, while you’re here—” and Poe has to laugh at that because he’s heard it the last four times he’s called.

Kes tells him, in his smooth low voice, about the problems he’s been facing at the ranch trying to rewire the tractor he and Poe had built when Poe was 17 and antsy angry at the world, as a way to distract him and still help out.

Poe is happy to sink into the distant mechanics of trying to solve his dad’s problem for a few hours. Circuits and gears make sense: push enough and you can make them do just about anything. It’s part of what Poe loves about teaching math, is the slow realization by his students that almost anything is possible.

It’s nice to think about cold logic for a few hours instead of himself and his increasingly ridiculous life.

 

* * *

 

Poe doesn’t usually come to these things. Between grading for all four classes he’s teaching, his codependent group of friends, and volunteering at the shelter down the street just to hang out with dogs and do something relatively productive with his life, Poe can’t find the time.

Besides, the University VA never manages to schedule them at convenient times (as if Poe is ever going to drag himself out of bed at 8 am on a Sunday to come have shitty coffee and donuts, socialize with people who mostly want him to have never been in the military one way or another, and then leave half an hour later.)

But it’s a Friday night and Poe, sick of himself and his papers and his research, has nothing better to do.

This isn’t an unusual feeling, for him. Until Leia yanked him out of his spiral with the promise of research, Poe had very little to do at all. He’s feeling half-social, already caught up with the few people he knows who come to these meetings. Always, though, it dips into the past, and Poe doesn’t like to dwell too much on it, if he can help it.

He did enough of that before. It’s time to move forward.

So now he’s holed up at a table in the corner of the big meeting room, nursing a beer (one of the reasons he’d come) and idly listening to two girls next to him chat about their time in the Army. Poe’s one of two former Air Force officers, and the other one didn’t bother to come tonight because, Poe gathers, she actually has better things to do.

Feet stop a few feet away from the table, clad in bright sneakers. A voice Poe hasn’t been able to get out of his head says, “Professor?”

Poe’s heart leaps neatly into his throat as he looks up to meet Finn’s dark, pretty eyes. His smile, a little nervous, but mostly delighted, brightens up the room. He’s wearing the exact opposite of a military uniform, in a bright, block colored T-shirt and pale blue jeans. A beer dangles between two fingers at his side.

“Finn,” Poe sits up a little straighter in his chair. He’s, of course, wearing ratty jeans and his old beat-up jacket, and that shouldn’t matter but Poe is too aware of it anyway.

Finn’s a vet.

Finn is a vet, which means he’s probably older, and he’s here standing in front of Poe and Poe’s heart is racing exactly like it shouldn’t and all the work Poe’s done to be a good person is flying very neatly out the window.

“I,” Finn starts, blinking at him. His mouth works for a second, but then he just smiles.

Poe’s staring. He registers that, and it takes him a couple more seconds to actually act on it, smiling and shoving himself up out of his chair with a laugh that’s only a little nervous. “Good to see you.”

“Yeah, you too,” Finn says, standing still for a moment before he holds out his hand for Poe. “I didn’t realize you served.”

“Me neither,” Poe shakes his hand, trying not to notice the callouses on his palms. His hand is warm and his grip is firm and he’d told Poe he wanted to touch him-- Poe shoves that train of thought off the rails. He offers Finn a grin and drops his hand before he just doesn’t let go. “Don’t come to these things usually,” and he should stop there, but Finn is smiling at him and Poe has terrible self-control, “If they didn’t usually schedule them at ass o’clock in the morning. I’m a lazy academic now.”

Snorting a laugh, Finn grins at him. “I come, sometimes. But studying takes over most of that time. Rey likes to study early and drags me with her.”

“Rey,” Poe repeats, eyebrows rising. “Rey Skywalker? That Rey?”

“Uh, yeah,” Finn nods, focusing on Poe now. “She’s my roommate. You know her?”

Poe’s world has always been strangely small, but this is ridiculous. He shakes his head, laughing under his breath. “Yeah, I know her. She used to dogsit for me.”

“Oh, nice,” Finn’s eyes are bright and he shifts closer to Poe, “what kind of dog do you have?”

“Had,” Poe corrects quietly, and, strangely, without the usual pang of sadness. “She was a German shepherd mix, probably loved Rey more than she loved me.” She used to wag her tail more for Rey’s coming over than she ever did for Poe, yipping happily and spinning in circles until Rey would put the leash on. Strange that Finn knows her. Strange, and very fitting. Poe smiles wryly. “Got the feeling that happens a lot.”

“It does,” Finn says with feeling, “Rey has that kind of energy. It took barely an hour for her to become my best friend. And that was after she almost punched me.” He sounds so serious about it that Poe can’t help but laugh, clapping Finn on the shoulder.

“Sounds like Rey. Why the hell did she almost punch you?”

“Some idiot tried to mug her. I tried to help, but she ended up knocking him out and then almost getting me too,” Finn sounds wistful and he leans into Poe’s hand. “I convinced her I wasn’t a threat.” He’s very warm under Poe’s hand. Belatedly, Poe realizes he’s still touching Finn-- but then, this is a VA event, and it’s weirder for Poe to keep his hands to himself. He squeezes Finn’s shoulder, still smiling.

“That can’t have been hard. You don’t look threatening to me.”

Finn’s smile widens, soft and easy. “Yeah, and I was even less of one then. I could barely walk, let alone hurt anybody. Honestly, I don’t know how I thought I could help.”

“It’s the thought that counts?” Poe offers. He desperately wants to ask about the first bit of that, glossed over-- why on earth could Finn barely walk? Is he okay? For some reason, the question sticks on his tongue. Finn’s easy smile lights up his eyes. Poe doesn’t want to ruin that, or make Finn stop leaning in with his body angled toward Poe, smelling like soap and sweat.

Poe wants with everything that he is.

Swallowing, he lets his hand drop. “Either way, glad she didn’t punch you. She looks like she could kick my ass.”

“She could,” Finn agrees fervently. “We train together. I’ve beat her four times, total.” Poe wonders at the affection in his tone-- maybe Finn has a tiny crush on her, or something, the way he talks. Maybe Finn thinks about her like he said he thinks about Poe, about how vocal, exactly, Poe is in bed (and he would be more than happy to demonstrate.)

Poe’s mouth is very dry. He’s already finished his beer.

What were they talking about? Rey. Studying, and Rey being able to kick Poe and Finn’s asses both, which confirms all the suspicions he had after bonding with her in the shitty laundromat down the street in the first place. Rey had befriended Shea first and then Poe, and offered to watch her whenever Poe needed.

Finn is watching him with curiosity in his dark eyes, his fingers loose around the can of shitty beer that Poe really should be old enough to know not to drink, because it’s just going to taste bad and do nothing.

Finn takes a sip of his beer, managing to drink it without wincing. “She’s good people. So,” his eyes flick away from Poe’s, then back. His nose wrinkles a little at the taste of the beer and Poe can’t help but laugh, nudging at Finn with his elbow before he remembers he isn’t supposed to be touching him.

“I dunno why they can’t spring for nicer beer. Or like. Non-mediocre tacos.”

“Free food is free food,” Finn laughs as he takes a sip of his beer. “Are you, ah, friends with a lot of the other vets here?”

“Okay, but mediocre free food is still mediocre.” Poe points out, grinning. “A couple. None of ‘em are here, so I look like an antisocial loser. Promise I’m not.”

“Hey, you’re a vet and a college professor. I think you can be antisocial if you want to,” Finn says, “that’s a lot to accomplish, at, what, barely 30?”

“31 in a couple months,” Poe corrects, amused. He can’t look quite that young, probably, with the early grey at his temples from his dad. “I never asked: what’s your actual degree in?”

“Math,” Finn glances down at his beer, looking oddly nervous. It’s cute on him. “At least for now.”

Finn gets a little crease between his brows when he’s unsure. Even in class, Poe always wants to press it away with his thumb. He bites down on his lip and shifts a bit closer. “For now?”

“I’m not declared yet. I should be, but I can’t decide,” Finn wrinkles his nose, “it’s my one shot at this. I have to get it right.”

“Hey, no,” Poe says gently, and Finn looks so nervous that Poe has to reach up and squeeze his shoulder again, reassuring. “That’s a ton of pressure to put on yourself.”

“It’s true, though,” Finn says, leaning into the touch. He’s close to Poe now, pitched toward him, his voice soft, “I have four years. I’ve already spent one and a bit.”

“Yeah, but whatever degree you get, you’re going to be able to put to use,” Poe doesn’t quite let go of Finn’s arm. “So why worry about it? Study what you wanna study.”

“Certain degrees are more marketable than others,” Finn points out weakly.

“Well, yeah, maybe don’t get your degree in theater if you’re worried,” Poe concedes, smiling dryly. “But like, what are your other choices? You’re a capable guy, Finn. I have complete faith that whatever you put your mind to, you’ll be great at.”

“Math is the best of the ones I’ve been thinking about,” Finn admits. “Business or economics, mostly.”

The two students behind them, still at the table, are starting to stand up. Laughing, Poe lets his hand slip down Finn’s arm just enough to pull him over to the wall, out of the way. “Hell of a lot more practical than what I did.”

“What’d you do?” Finn asks, going easily with him with his eyes locked on Poe like he actually cares what nerdy major Poe had before enlisting.

“Theoretical astrophysics and engineering,” Poe grins. “You know. Nerd stuff.”

“You are a nerd,” Finn laughs, turning into him, his shoulder landing on the wall. “Guess that’s why you’re a professor.”

At least, Poe reflects, at least he isn’t the only one doing the staring. Finn leans on the wall like he belongs there, his eyes bright and his smile easy. Poe swallows.Finn’s eyes track the movement. “Professional nerd,” his damn mouth is dry again. Poe’s tongue darts out to wet his lips and Finn watches that, too, eyes flickering between Poe’s mouth and his eyes. “It’s perfect. I, uh, I tricked them into paying me a ton of money to do research and tell impressionable young adults space facts.”

Finn nods his head, his eyes dropping to Poe’s lips again. “Your class only counts if I stick with math.” He’d done that before kissing Poe, too: watched his mouth with dark eyes, like he was thinking of everything he wanted to do.

Poe has very carefully avoided looking at Finn for too long in class since then, consumed with what could have happened if he hadn’t pushed Finn away (and his mind very happily has supplied him with many different outcomes, each filthier than the last.)

Now all he wants is to try it again. It’s the worst idea.

He bites at his lip. “If you had all the time in the world, if the timeline wasn’t an issue, what would you do?”

“I…” Finn takes a breath and he smiles shyly, “Honestly? I’d probably go into social work or politics.”

Of course he would. Poe’s heart slams off-beat into his ribs. Poe can see him up on a stage, talking to people in that smooth voice until they can’t help but follow him, follow the promises and dreams in his eyes. Poe would.

“Wow,” he can’t help but murmur, “Politics, huh? What kind? Local, national? International?”

“Local, or national, I think. There’s… there’s a lot of stuff that’s messed up. I’d like to fix it.”

Poe wants to kiss him, chase the hope in his voice. “I bet you could. Y’know, an econ degree, you could do politics with that.”

“That’s true,” Finn bobs his head, like he’s actually considering it. Like maybe Poe helped him, just a little. “I… I’ll figure it out. I don’t, I mean, thanks. For listening to me.”

“’S what I’m here for,” Poe says with a wry, twisting smile that he doesn’t quite feel. “Guiding the next generation and all that.”

Finn smiles, soft and gentle, his head dropping against the wall. “How about you? What branch were you in?”

Poe laughs and spreads his hands. “Guess.”

Finn sticks out his tongue. “Right. Okay. Let me guess, you’re a pilot?”

Grinning, Poe pushes himself off the wall, trying to put a little distance between them. He can still feel Finn’s body heat like warmth from a fire on his skin. “Am I that obvious?”

“A little. I mean. You teach aerospace. It was that or you were an engineer, which is probably Navy or Air Force. So which was it?”

“Air Force,” Poe confirms with a slow shake of his head. “We’re all kinda the same, honestly. What about you?”

Finn raises his eyebrows. “You’re not getting off that easily.”

“Oh, come on,” Poe protests, “You got a hint. I’m the dark here.”

“What hint? Your mere existence?” Finn says, challenging.

“Aerospace was like giving that to you on a platter,” Poe snorts, lifting his chin. “Alright, fine. You were…” he looks Finn slowly up and down. His pants cling to muscled thighs, pale denim tight. Poe’s eyes flicker up, taking in the broad shoulders under Finn’s t-shirt. He’s about Poe’s height, actually. He hadn’t noticed before.

Poe’s throat is a little tight by the time he gets back to Finn’s face. “Definitely Marines.” His voice comes out breathless.

“Lucky guess,” Finn says, and it almost looks like he’s flexing under his shirt, muscles standing out under the bright colors.

“What, hell no! That was an informed decision based on my incredible powers of observation.”

“What gave me away?” Finn asks, his lips twitching like he’s trying to mask a smile.

And alright, fine, it was definitely a lucky guess. Poe grins ruefully and reminds himself to look at Finn’s face, not the lines of his body under thin fabric. “You’re standing mostly on your left foot, which is obviously a Marines thing. Come on.”

“Uh huh,” Finn takes a slow sip of his beer, “right.” His weight shifts over to his right foot. Rolling his eyes, Poe shifts just close enough to bump their shoulders together.

“Nope. You can’t disguise your origins.”

“I guess this means we can’t be friends,” Finn says softly, breathlessly. They’re less than a foot apart. Poe’s heart hammers behind his ribs.

“I’m willing to overlook our differences if you are,” he murmurs.

He can hear a soft intake of breath, Finn’s eyes fixed on his. “I, I guess I could.”

“Be the bigger man,” Poe says with a tiny smile. Up at the front of the room, they’re starting to play the same damn video they play every time: some stupid thing honoring the troops, about all the ways the university supports them. Poe barely resists the urge to roll his eyes. He usually leaves before this part.

“I hate this video,” Finn mutters.

Poe has to smile at the derision in his voice. “I’ve never actually seen the whole thing. Always leave.”

“Do you want to?” Finn asks, raising an eyebrow. Biting at his lip, Poe looks up at the movie-- now at the photos of all the fallen soldiers who were also alums—and back at Finn.

“Let’s get out of here.”

Finn’s smile widens and he finishes his beer in one swig. Poe steals it from him and presses the empty bottle onto the table, tugging at his arm. The half the room not watching the movie are all on their phones, so they slip around the back without anyone’s eyes on them and out into the gathering darkness. Finn laughs as soon as they’re free, his shoulder brushing Poe’s.

“That propaganda. Like we don’t remember.”

“Right?” Poe snorts, rolling his eyes as the door shuts. “I hate that video. I hate the whole… the whole thing. And the tacos.”

“Wanna go get better tacos?” Finn asks, shooting him a smile.

Poe bites his lip. “You know, I really do.”

“There’s a good place near here,” Finn’s hands are in his pockets and he looks nervous.

“Yeah?” Poe bumps his shoulder into Finn’s, shivering a bit as the breeze picks up. This is a terrible idea. It’s practically a date, and the way Finn’s been watching him, the way Poe’s been staring back, that’s definitely the impression he’s going to give.

But the alternative is to go out and get smashed on less-cheap beer, or go home and drink wine until he passes out on his couch, and Poe doesn’t want to leave the easy warmth of Finn just yet. He smiles and says, quietly, “Lead the way.”

 

* * *

 

Finn laughs, loud and bright, his taco dangling half-eaten, forgotten in his hand. “Oh my god, you did what?”

“Okay, okay” Poe holds up a messy, sauce-covered hand, still laughing through his words, “He had it coming!”

“God.” Finn covers his mouth with his hand, shoulders shaking with laughter. “So you punched him. You’re such a great influence.” Poe is closer than he should be, probably, but he doesn’t want to lean away from Finn and his laughter and his glittering eyes.

“Tell me you would’ve done something different.”

“No. I would’ve decked him. That’s just. Shit,” Finn shakes his head. “I don’t miss those kinda guys. Were you court marshaled for it?”

Poe grins and leans back on his heels. “Nope. Should’ve been, don’t get me wrong, but-- my commanding officer liked me, and privately, agreed that he was a shithead.”

“Lucky. My commanding officers were always,” Finn wrinkles his nose, and it looks surprisingly endearing, his face scrunching up, “difficult. I had one, at the end. Phasma. She was something else.”

Poe knows that story, and can’t resist dragging an arm around Finn’s shoulders, tugging him close. “Had a couple of those, too. But hey,” he squeezes Finn, grinning, “You made it out in one piece.”

“Barely,” Finn says and he leans into Poe, his shoulders tense under Poe’s arm. He can feel Finn’s breath on his cheek.

A tiny smile flickers on Finn’s lips. It’s only a small curve of his lips, but it lights up his face and Poe can’t look away. Finn is gorgeous. Finn is kind and bold and funny and sharp and Poe-- Poe wants to kiss him.

In the space of a breath, Poe leans in and presses their mouths together.

Finn seems to stop breathing. He’s still against Poe, as if he doesn’t want to scare him off. Slowly, his lips move, gently against his. Poe knows he shouldn’t be doing this, trapped in the shadows with Finn, still his student, but he can’t for the life of him make himself pull away. Instead, he reaches up and tugs Finn closer. The tension slowly leeches out of Finn’s body and his hand slides gently over Poe’s chest. His lips part and his head tilts, pressing in against him, and Poe is lost. Finn’s mouth is hot. He kisses like he knows exactly what Poe likes, a flicker of teasing tongue and wet heat, and Poe’s breath comes short and fast and dizzy.

Fingers gently trail over Poe’s throat. Poe can feel Finn smile against his lips.

“Shouldn’t,” Poe murmurs without actually meaning it. He slides his mouth along the line of Finn’s jaw with a quiet, damp sigh.

“Probably not,” Finn breathes, cupping the back of his neck, and Poe almost pulls away when he continues, “at least, not here.”

The same low promise slips through Finn’s voice. Poe groans, nipping at the warm, soft skin where his neck meets his shoulder. “Definitely not here.”

“I have a roommate,” Finn says, apologetically. His fingers tighten in the base of Poe’s hair. “Could we, could we go to your place?”

“Yeah,” Poe says before he can think better of it, tilting his head back into Finn’s palm.

“Yeah, good.” Finn kisses him one more time with a giddy grin. He shifts up and grabs the rest of his taco. “Let’s go.”

“It’s not far,” Poe promises. Jess is going to yell at him. Finn’s smile is brilliant, his eyes shining in the darkness.

Alternatively: Jess doesn’t have to know.


	2. October

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I know it’s unorthodox, but would you go out with me later this week?

The scent of Poe’s deep, smoky coffee brewing in the kitchen is what finally drags him from sleep. The air is thick with sounds Poe hasn’t heard in years: someone else in his kitchen. Water percolates through the coffee machine, echoed by clinking mugs and the soft shift of weight on the creaking floor.

Ignoring the ache in his limbs and in his head—he is too old, apparently, to be drinking cheap beer—Poe pushes himself up out of the sheets and grimaces at the dried sweat on his skin. He probably looks like hell. His fingers slide over indented pillow-creases when he reaches up to shove his hair back away from his face.

Definitely not presentable, but Poe is too hazy with sleep to do anything about it. Yawning, he curls his toes into the carpet and listens to the faint beep of the coffeemaker announcing that it’s finished.

Sun shines through his tiny kitchen window, settling in a bright square on the floor. “Morning,” Poe mumbles, scruffing one hand through his hair again.

Wearing only his purple boxers and T-shirt, Finn smiles easily at him. He still looks half asleep and lazy, leaning back against the counter with his phone in his hand. “G’morning,” he says, voice low and hoarse. He’d moaned Poe’s name last night, almost screaming it.

Poe’s chest is tight. Finn is so relaxed, like they haven’t just broken at least 10 school rules (who knows how many, really; Poe tends to play it fast and loose with the rules.) Vivid images of tugging those same boxers down Finn’s thighs crowd into Poe’s head.

There are so many things wrong here, and all Poe does is smile softly at Finn as he pads closer. “Didn’t think anyone else could figure out my coffee machine. That thing’s possessed.”

Finn’s smile grows and he laughs, “you’re looking at a former barista. It gave me special coffee powers.”

“Getting the impression you can do pretty much anything you wanted.” The coffee pot bubbles quietly, steaming in its corner on his counter. Poe’s eyes drop shut as he breathes in. “That smells awesome. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Finn says, pushing himself off the counter. His eyes flick over Poe’s face, hesitating in the middle of the kitchen before he walks over and his fingers land lightly on Poe’s hips. Leaning in, his lips brush over Poe’s cheek. “I was gonna make something, but there’s nothing in your fridge.”

“Haven’t gone shopping,” Poe mumbles, relaxing slightly against Finn. Tentatively, he pushes a kiss against Finn’s mouth. “Uh. We could,” he would say get breakfast, but then they might be seen and there’s no good reason for them to be getting breakfast together, so he bites down his lip and wrinkles his nose. “Order?”

Finn kisses him soundly, his arms slowly looping around Poe’s waist, like he’s afraid that it will no longer he allowed. Nosing against Poe’s cheek, he murmurs, “or we could go to my place. I make great waffles.”

“Of course you do,” Poe says before he can stop himself, laughing unsteadily. “Where’s your place? Thought you lived with Rey?”

“A few blocks off campus, on 28th,” Finn tells him, still pressed close to him. He’s warm and pliant and touches Poe like he can’t imagine letting go of him, his hands smoothing over Poe’s hips. “Rey volunteers on Saturdays. She’s probably not there.”

They’re backed up against the counter. Finn’s weight is a solid warm thing that Poe is hard-pressed to pull himself away from.

He’s being stupid. He knows that, and probably Finn knows that. He’d just handed Finn back that paper last week.

“Sounds great,” he murmurs. Finn’s lips curve into a soft smile, pressed to the corner of Poe’s mouth. Before he can think about it, Poe nudges him into a lingering kiss.

“Okay, good. I don’t,” he laughs, sounding shy as he pulls back to look at Poe. Finn’s eyes are soft and focused utterly on Poe. The affection in his gaze snatches at Poe’s breath, plucks it right from his throat until he feels caught and can’t look away. “I don’t want to go back to normal life yet.”

Poe’s heart does a strange little thudding thing in his chest, hammering into his ribs like it’s trapped there.

Normal life. Poe doesn’t really want to return to reality either: reality is his kitchen, empty in the mornings without the sound of percolating water and coffee thick in the air, no dog to walk, student papers to grade and research grants he hasn’t wanted to deal with in months. The future Poe doesn’t yet feel equipped for. The life he hasn’t quite slotted himself back into.

He shakes his head and steals another slow kiss. “No,” he mumbles quietly, and Finn’s palm presses into the small of his back, anchoring him. Poe smiles against his mouth. “Me neither. Let’s drag it out, huh?”

“Yes, please,” Finn laughs against his lips. His fingers slide into Poe’s hair, pulling him flush against Finn’s body like they were last night, tangled in Poe’s sheets, sweaty and sated.

They stay like that, trading lazy kisses until Finn’s stomach complains. He pulls back with a laugh, smoothing Poe’s hair back out of his face. “Uh. Waffles?”

“Coffee,” Poe corrects as he tugs Finn toward the table. “Then waffles.”

They spent the rest of the day in Finn’s apartment. It’s small, with just one shared bedroom and a small living room with a squishy couch that Poe is intimately familiar with by the end of the day, lazing with only a blanket draped over him when Finn brought him lunch with another deep, heated kiss.

Finn almost asked him to stay. Poe can see it, in his eyes and the small curve of his smile when he says goodbye to Poe, pushing him against the door before finally letting him leave.

The thing is, though: Poe would have stayed, if Finn asked him to, and that realization more than anything is what makes him leave. Finn’s words from that morning stick in his mind like syrup, and he can still feel the echo of fingertips pressing almost-bruises into his skin, can remember the bumps of Finn’s spine under his palm and the arc of muscle and the soft breathless voice in his ear. Poe thinks about going home to his own apartment, the tiny kitchen with flickering lights and peeling linoleum and coffee pot half-full from that morning.

With a rough sound, still leaning against Finn’s building, he yanks out his phone and calls Jess.

“Hey,” Jess sings cheerfully. “How’s my favorite nerd?”

That’s been her standard greeting for him since they met and it never fails to make Poe smile. Shouldering his phone, Poe digs out his keys. “You busy tonight? Don’t lie to make yourself sound cooler.”

“I had big plans for this six pack and Netflix. You have a better offer?” Jess asks brightly. Poe snorts.

“Wow. So cool. Need company and maybe several more bottles of wine?”

“Uh, duh. I know you’re in for action movie night. I want to watch Fast and Furious, and Netflix only has the worst ones,” she laughs and there’s the sound of traffic around her. “Bring something red.”

Jess always knows how to center him again, even when she doesn’t know she’s doing it. Poe smiles faintly down at his car. “Sure thing. Maybe I’ll even buy something over 15 bucks. Also: The Fast and the Furious? We’re watching Fury Road.”

“Why not both?” She asks. Poe can hear her easy smile through the phone. “We’re also ordering pizza. I was gonna have something frozen, but this is turning into a party.”

“Just like old times,” Poe mutters dryly. Maybe that’s exactly what he needs.

Poe's phone buzzes just as the whole room shakes with the sound of a helicopter blowing up.

He’s been doing a passable job of paying attention to the movie and getting himself just tipsy enough to almost forget about the way Poe’s name sounds breathless on Finn’s lips. Somehow, Poe’s managed to finish a bottle and a half of wine and three beers by himself. Jess, bless her, hasn’t noticed or hasn’t said anything. Alcohol settles warm in his belly, making him clumsy as he arches up to try and drag his phone out his back pocket. Whoever it is isn’t in his contacts.

_**Hi Poe. I got your number from Rey. Hope that’s okay. I had a great time last night. And this morning. And most of today. I know it’s unorthodox, but would you go out with me later this week? We kinda jumped straight in and I’d like to get to know you better. You know, as more than a great professor and an ex-commander.** _

_**This is Finn. If you didn’t get that.** _

He did definitely get that.

Unorthodox is not the right word for the string of decisions Poe has made recently. It’s also not the right word for the immediate and fervent impulse to text back hell yes.

“Hey,” Jess pokes him in the ribs with her toe. Her eyes flick to his phone, then to his face. “Bad news?”

Poe has to laugh at that, snorting down at his phone.

“Just, uh,” he has to think for a second around the wine-soaked haze in his head, groping for an excuse that Jess would believe, “Something from the university.”

He knows it works when Jess’ face goes dark.

“Poe,” she snaps, “don’t check your work email! It’s Saturday night. It’s movie night.” She lunges to take the phone away from him and Poe jerks back, laughing as he falls into the cushions.

“Hey, no, I’m sorry! I’ll leave it alone, c’mon—” dodging another swipe, he presses the phone face-down onto the cushions beside him and grins at her. “See?”

Poe waits, carefully still, until Jess has huffed and turned back to the movie, to pick up his phone again with heart fluttering to type out a quick: _sounds great. let’s do it._

The phone buzzes a minute later. Jess whips around, her hair flying behind her, to give him a Look, her eyes widening as if to say: don’t you dare.

Poe flashes her his brightest, most innocent grin and holds up both empty palms, sprawling back into the cushions. Jess has too many, collected from friends and flea markets and her grandmother who loves to decorate Jess’ apartment for her. “Movies are getting pretty realistic,” he tells her around his smile, ignoring Jess’ answering snort. “Felt that explosion. Right here.”

Rolling her eyes, Jess grabs the bottle and waves him down. With a groan, Poe stretches and bends forward so she can top off both of their glasses. “This movie is great. Shut up.”

Complying, Poe drains half his glass in one go and keeps his phone turned face-down. Finn asked him. There isn’t exactly a chance Finn is going to say no.

But a hundred questions chase after him the rest of the night, even with his phone silent, nestled warm between his leg and the cushions. Why him? It can’t be Finn’s grades, because he has the best in the class and he knows it. It isn’t because he wants into Poe’s field and Finn is texting him now about going out with him, getting to know him better. Finn wants to date him. That’s an entirely different machine than sometimes fucking your professor because you think he’s hot and approachable, and you want a thrill.

It’s a lot more real than Poe thought it was.

The idea is thrilling.

He spends the rest of that night at Jess’ place, curled on the couch with her hand-knitted blankets pooled around him, and spends half of Sunday texting Finn back and grading papers. They’re going out on Wednesday.

Finn’s section of advanced calc is at 10 am that following Monday.

Poe doesn’t realize the ramifications of that until he actually walks into the room, sees Finn sitting in the front row, and immediately forgets half his lesson plan for the day. Finn smiles that same sweet smile but his eyes linger on Poe as he regroups and waves good morning to the half the class actually paying attention to him. “I know no one wants to be here on a Monday morning, but I promise I have a good lesson for you today.”

None of them look quite like they believe him. Finn’s eyes glitter. His lips part like he wants to say something. He presses his mouth shut again, but pulls out his phone.

Poe’s phone buzzes in his pocket. He ignores it until he gets through the introduction of LaGrange multipliers (one of Poe’s favorite mathematical concepts) and sets them to their first problem, which is googling what LaGrange multipliers might be used for.

Only when most of the students are on their phone or someone else’s does Poe yank out his own phone under the pretense of research to find the text from Finn he only half-expected to be there.

**_I like your shirt._ **

Feeling his ears heat up, Poe shoves his phone back into his pocket and glances up. Finn is flirting with him. In the middle of class.

He looks almost smug, Poe thinks, staring down at his phone with a tiny smile on his lips.

Poe grins.

 _Wore it just for you_ , he texts, and as soon as Finn glances up at him again, Poe turns around and starts writing his question at the top of the board so he has to stretch up to reach it.

His phone buzzes. Poe finishes with a line to fill in the answer.

**_Mind if I stay after class, professor?_ **

When Poe looks back around, Finn looks like he’s barely containing his laughter. He’s also leaned back in his chair, clearly having already found what he thinks is the answer.

 _That is so not funny_ , Poe texts back immediately, grinning stupidly down at his phone. _If you’re really stuck you’re welcome to do some deeper research._

 ** _I’d rather if you did some deeper research._** Finn texts back, his lips pursed and eyes focused on Poe. _**I think we can go deeper than Saturday.**_

Heat rushes through Poe all at once.

“Okay,” He calls out in his most authoritative voice (if it’s a little breathless, only Finn should notice.) “Everyone done? Anyone wanna volunteer the answer?” He gestures to the blank space on the board with a grin.

Finn raises his hand and so do two others students. Poe raises a brow, looks at the girl one seat up from Finn, her hand pushed tentatively into the air, and is abruptly filled with pride.

“Cara? Wanna give it a shot? No wrong—well, there is a wrong answer, but this is complicated, so no judgment.”

She flashes him a shy smile. “One of the main uses for LaGrange multipliers is finding the corresponding points in space.” She doesn’t even end it on a question.

Poe claps his hands, grinning. “Great job, perfect! Now, LaGrange multipliers are kind of weird because they rely on intuition—don’t give me that look, I’m gonna teach you— so let’s dive into that a bit.”

The rest of class goes quickly. Poe ignores his phone, and smiles a little whenever he meets Finn’s eyes, something low and hot curling through him.

Finn does wait after class, looking like any student diligently working to get a jump on his homework. He doesn’t look at Poe, only at his notebook.

“Finn!” Poe calls as the rest of the class filters out. The door falls quietly shut, and Poe turns on his heel to face Finn. “Didn’t think you’d actually… stay.”

Finn glances up at him with a gentle smile. “You didn’t want to see me after class?”

“I might,” Poe starts, his breath catching at that smile, “have a couple extracurricular-- I’m not cool enough to pull that off. You win.”

“I like winning,” Finn admits, setting own his pencil. His eyes trail over Poe’s face and down his neck. “Can coffee count as an extracurricular?”

“Don’t you have, like,” Poe waves a hand, slipping inexorably closer. He feels caught in Finn’s eyes, “other classes, or something?”

“Not til three,” Finn says, sitting up a little straighter. “Can I stay here?”

Something in his voice brings the other night back to Poe in full-force. He sucks in a slow breath. “Yeah, I don’t see why not. Hanging in empty classrooms is what the cool kids do.”

“I’m objectively pretty cool,” Finn agrees, his pen tapping against his notebooks. “What do you have later?”

Poe grins just thinking of the class. A quick glance at the door confirms no one is there yet-- it’s just after noon, so everyone’s gone to lunch and he knows this classroom is empty until at least 2, having gotten distracted working after class ends for entirely too long before.

He slips down into the seat beside Finn, smiling, and leans over to steal a quick kiss. “Dark Skies. It’s all about the stuff you can’t see, but that’s definitely there. Dark matter. The invisible stuff threading our universe together. Awesome class.”

“That sounds really cool,” Finn breathes, staying where he was for the kiss, like he’s savoring the feeling on his lips. “What, uh, are you teaching tonight?”

Warmth swirls up through Poe’s belly, making him laugh quietly. Finn’s breath still puffs damply over Poe’s lips. “Another applied calc section,” he reaches over to squeeze Finn’s hand. It’s so easy, and something thrills in Poe that they’re in a classroom, that this is so-- it should be harder than it is. But here they are, with Finn’s knees knocking into Poe’s and their hands laced together, warmth and affection clear in Finn’s eyes. “Your section’s my favorite. Don’t tell them.”

“Is it just because I’m there?” Finn asks, voice quiet, his eyes bright and focused.

“Yeah,” Poe admits breathlessly, flushing at how much truth is in his words. “Pretty much. Also, Matt Stein is in that class and that kid’s the worst.”

“Fuck that guy,” Finn says, lips curving in a grin. Poe grins back.

“Dunno, man. That’s a limited offer.”

“Is it?” Finn murmurs, voice low. Poe swallows. They’re definitely too close. If anyone walked in right now, there wouldn’t be any illusions about what’s going on.

“One-time-deal. Actually,” Finn’s eyes are dark and hot.

“I think I can give you a better offer,” Finn says on a breath. Their hands are still twined together under the desk and Poe can feel every point of contact like a brand, sparking electric along his skin.

“I’ll bet,” he says, low, and leans in to steal one more kiss. Poe could stay like that forever, the sun shining warmly in through the windows with the edge of the chair pressing into his thigh, but outside there are a flurry of footsteps. Groaning quietly, his ears hot, Poe pulls away. “Gotta be careful.”

“Yeah,” Finn says with a quick nod. “I, it’s hard to be. Around you.”

Poe sucks in a tiny breath, his eyes widening. Every time Poe starts to think he knows what this is about, Finn does something small like this, something that makes his breath catch and his heart feel full, until all he can do is smile helplessly back.

“You’ve managed so far,” he says with a soft smile.

“…have I?” Finn asks, his fingers just brushing Poe’s hip. It’s a tiny touch but Poe’s attention focuses there for a moment, laser-sharp. “I think I’ve been all over you.”

“Just a little,” Poe says, even though they’re still probably way closer than they should be and Finn’s knee is still brushing his under the desk.

“Poe,” Finn breathes with a grin, “I kissed you in your office. I. Still feel kind of weird about that. I’m sorry.”

Laughing, Poe shakes his head. “I couldn’t stop thinking about that for about 48 hours.”

“That’s something, I guess,” Finn murmurs, shooting him a smile. “Still. It was inappropriate. I hoped I hadn’t ruined anything. But then you were so kind to me again in class, and at the VA thing.” Finn starts to gather up his notes from class, “I’m glad you like me too.”

“Well, even if I didn’t,” Poe reaches over to grab a few stray pens to press into Finn’s hands, letting their fingers brush, “what was I supposed to do, single you out and make you feel like shit?”

“You could’ve,” Finn says, “didn’t think you would.”

“Never,” Poe promises with his heart in his voice, a little low and a little rough. Finn’s lips part silently. Poe’s head buzzes with warmth and Finn and nerves. He laughs weakly. “Unless you’re doing this to improve your grades, in which case, sorry, buddy, but it ain’t working.”

“Damn it,” Finn laughs and leans in, his breath ghosting on Poe’s throat. “But how can I really get better than an A?”

“A-plus,” Poe shoots back, his laughter sticking in his throat. Finn’s breath flutters warmly on his skin. “Or A-double-plus, but I only give those to students who can name the entire cast of the original Star Trek.”

“I could study up,” Finn catches his lips in a quick kiss. He smiles, staying close, “thanks. Promise this isn’t about grades.”

“You know,” more footsteps, so Poe pushes himself to his feet and carefully does not skim a hand along Finn’s shoulder like he wants to, “I trust you on that.”

“Good,” Finn says emphatically. He sounds completely serious, eyes fixed on Poe’s face when he says, “because I’m interested in so much more than that.”

Poe’s throat goes dry.

Finn, he is gathering, says only things that he means with his whole heart, and doesn’t do things by halves. If he’s in this, he’s in this, but then--

Poe can’t stop the question escaping for the second time, hoarse and small. “Why?”

Finn sits back, behind the desk where he’s been for all of class, looking up at Poe like he does every Monday and Wednesday. He smiles gently, and says, “you already asked me that.”

In Poe’s office, with early Sunday light coming through his coveted window and bright pop still playing in the background, his mouth damp from Finn’s lips.

“I did,” Poe says, wetting his dry lips.

If anything, Finn should be asking him why. Poe isn’t sure he can come up with a satisfactory answer.

If he had to, though, he thinks, watching the curve of Finn’s smile, it would go something like:

Finn is sweet. Finn is breathtakingly smart. Finn is full of hope so bright it hurts Poe’s heart a little bit, and Poe hasn’t stopped thinking about him since those champagne-flavored kisses in his office that morning.

Finn is smiling at him like he’s just figured out how to smile, fresh and brilliant, and Poe thinks that to put that smile on Finn’s face he would do just about anything, and it has been only a week or so.

Poe is doomed.

 

* * *

Poe doesn’t even really need to be in a costume, but he’s never managed to let go of his childish fascination with Halloween. And anyway, it makes kids a lot happier when they knock on his door to be greeted not by a scruffy guy in a jacket but by Captain Kirk, who luckily is a popular figure again now that the new movies have come out.

Sure, Poe looks nothing like him, but he’s got the command uniform and a phaser and a bit of that Kirk swagger, and more importantly: nothing better to do with his Saturday night. Jess is at a party with her current girlfriend that Poe didn’t feel like going to, and Snap is with his kids and Kare trick-or-treating and carving pumpkins like the adorable family they are. Poe’s been getting cute pictures all night.

So Poe has a costume, entirely too many decorations for a grown-ass man alone on Halloween, and three bowls full of candy which are currently entrancing the group of princesses at his doorstep, all staring up at him with wide eyes.

“Are you a Wiggle?” One of the girls, dressed up like Tiana in pretty green, asks with her nose wrinkling.

Poe wriggles a little, laughing. The girl’s mother is stares thoughtfully over the top of her daughter’s head, also trying to figure it out. Maybe not as popular as he thought. “Nope. Guess again.”

“He’s someone at the gym!” Another princess volunteers triumphantly. Poe grins and lifts the candy bowl with one hand.

“Two strikes,” he crows, and watches their faces grow pale. Of course, he’s going to give them the candy anyway, but what’s Halloween without a couple tricks? Anyway, Poe is very bored. “You guys want a hint?”

Their chorus of “Yes!” is immediate and demanding, and makes Poe grin wider. “Alright. Think… about the stars. I like to explore them.”

“He wants to boldly go where no one has gone before,” a smooth voice says. Excitement bolts down Poe’s spine.

“Star Trek!” A kid in the back in a Cinderella dress shouts, sounding proud. Poe only distantly registers the murmur of success and the rustling of bags as the kids ask if that was right.

Finn, dressed in a tan robe that’s an homage to the Jedi, grins at him. A purple child’s toy lightsaber hangs at his side.

“Yeah,” Finn says, leaning down a little toward the tiny Cinderella. “Exactly! He’s supposed to be Captain Kirk. I think he’d make a better Riker, myself.”

“Your opinion is noted, Mr. Finn,” Poe says with a little too much glee in his voice. “Alright, alright, you guys got it right, so you get the good candy.” He winks at the kid near the back, who gasps and shuffles toward the front of the pack with bag held out proudly.

Poe drops a candy bar into each of their pumpkin-shaped buckets and one frilly pillowcase, then looks up at Finn in his long tan robes. “You got it right,” he says with a smile, and holds up a Milky Way bar. “You want candy too? Gotta say the magic words.”

“Captain,” Finn says, his voice dropping as soon as the kids are gone, giggling to each other as they compare the candy they got from Poe.

Poe shivers, his grin widening. “Not quite what I was looking for, but I’ll take it, Master Williams.” Finn was supposed to be out at a party with Rey, a celebration of finishing his midterms with probably-fantastic grades. Definitely an A from Poe, at least. “Party over already? It’s only,” he twists around to glance at the clock behind him, “9:35, come on.”

Finn shrugs a shoulder and moves closer to him, shoving his hand into the bowl Poe is holding. “It was boring,” he says, picking out a Snickers. His eyes are fixed on Poe’s face.

“Yeah, I’ve heard that about Halloween parties,” Poe breathes, “Real boring.” He searches Finn’s face for some hint of why he’s actually here. Finn isn’t much of a party person, Poe has learned, but he’s been talking about this for nearly a week, cycling through costume ideas with Poe when they’re tangled together in the sheets.

Why Finn would leave that and come here, Poe honestly doesn’t know. He feels stuck here in the doorway, pinned under the warm intensity of Finn’s eyes.

“Is that why you’re here by yourself?” Finn asks, peeling open the Snickers wrapper. Helplessly, Poe watches his lips close around the end of it. Amusement flashes over Finn’s face.

Poe bites at his lip and tries for a smile. “If I could get away with it, I’d be out with Snap’s kids trick-or-treating, but Snap and Kare got it covered this year, so,” he gestures behind himself to Hocus Pocus playing on his shitty TV.

Finn’s smile melts into something softer. “I’ll watch kid’s movies with you.”

“Excuse you, Hocus Pocus is a Halloween classic and should be enjoyed by all ages.”

“Okay,” Finn moves in, his fingers brushing Poe’s hand. “I’ll watch this holiday classic with you.”

He wants to ditch his party for Poe. Before he can think better of it (in plain sight, on a popular night to be out) Poe smears a quick, laughing kiss over Finn’s mouth. “Hell yeah. If you want candy, though, I expect you to say Trick or Treat.”

“Candy isn’t exactly what I’m looking for,” Finn breathes, his body shifting against Poe.

“In the spirit of the holiday,” Poe says breathlessly, and curls a hand around Finn’s bicep, “say it anyway.”

“Trick,” Finn says, fingers sliding down Poe’s hips. His words ghost over Poe’s lips. “Or Treat.”

“Those words have literally never sounded hotter.” Poe breathes all at once as heat lances down his spine.

Suddenly, Finn smiles, bright and mischievous. “Can we go inside?”

Groaning quietly, Poe nudges the door open wider with his foot. “Immediately.” He practically drags Finn inside, ignoring the shrieking teenagers on the TV behind him. “Nice costume. By the way. Kinda jealous you can pull off the space bathrobe look like a champion.”

“I’d be a terrible Jedi,” Finn says as he passes, ripping the rest of the Snickers wrapper. He pops it in his mouth, turning on his heel to grin at Poe. “Jedi probably shouldn’t want to fuck their professors.”

Poe’s throat goes dry. “I, uh. I don’t know that any Jedi ever got the chance.”

“Come on, Anakin and Obi Wan? Definitely could’ve.”

As soon as the door shuts, Finn pushes him against it, his breath hot on Poe’s lips. He smells faintly of alcohol. “I’ll be the Spock to your Kirk, Captain.”

“Now those two were definitely fucking,” Poe breathes, his eyes flicking down to Finn’s mouth and back up to his eyes, dark and hot. His arms are around Finn’s waist before he knows what he’s even doing, his mouth sliding along Finn’s jaw up to his ear. Finn is warm despite it being nearly below-freezing outside. Poe is happy to warm him up even more, if he really does want to stay here.

“I spent the entire party trying not to think about you,” Finn says, his words pressed against Poe’s throat. “All 45 minutes of it. A frat guy was trying to dance with me.”

“Sounds like the party barely got started,” Poe murmurs, trying to ignore the rush of arousal throbbing through him. His space pants are way too tight. Finn’s weight is solid, holding him in place against the door.

“Yeah. Cause I wanted to be here. You’re so much hotter than that guy,” Finn sighs, his fingers pushing against Poe’s hips. His lips skate over Poe’s throat. Whining a little, Poe shoves his hands down into the folds of Finn’s robes, but he can’t get anywhere. They’re too thick and held shut with something he’s too impatient to figure out, so he just groans.

“You should’ve been Spock,” he murmurs into Finn’s ear, nipping at the soft skin. “Easier to undress. Also, frat guys are dumb, and this is coming from a former frat boy.”

“Of course you were a frat boy,” Finn laughs and he tugs on his own robes, letting them drop open, falling around the pair of them. It looks very easy, the way he does it. “Should’ve told me you were Kirk. I would’ve done it.”

“Should’ve told me you were gonna turn up at my door in space monk robes,” Poe retorts with a grin and immediately ducks his head to push a kiss to Finn’s bared shoulder.

“Are you done trick or treating?” Finn asks quickly, his hands on his belt. His eyes are already hazy, staring at Poe.

“I don’t really decide that,” Poe sucks at the fluttering pulse under his lips and slips up to kiss Finn properly. He tastes like alcohol and too-sweet candy and Poe can’t pull away. Finn tugs at his belt anyway, kissing him between words.

“Well,” he breathes, “you can just,” he bites at Poe’s lips, “stay in costume.” Poe groans, laughing breathlessly until Finn’s tongue slides wet over his lip, and then Poe is distracted for a solid minute trying to wrap himself around Finn as tight as possible. Finn’s palms smooth down over his hips and back up under the tight material of his shirt.

“Didn’t know you were into that,” Poe groans.

“Who hasn’t wanted to get fucked by Riker,” Finn grins and grinds against Poe’s hips.

“Okay, first of all, I’m Kirk,” Poe gasps, letting his head drop back against the door with a thud, “and that’s not really important right now, fuck.”

“Or maybe I’ve always wanted to fuck Kirk,” he bites hard at Poe’s throat. Poe drags both hands down Finn’s back to cup his ass through the folds of his robes.

“You and Spock both,” he breathes unsteadily.

“Maybe,” Finn says, rolling slow and steady against him. The door shudders. “Maybe I should suck Kirk’s cock.”

“Holy shit.” Poe bites at Finn’s lip, tugging his lower lip between his teeth until Finn jerks. “That is a solid plan.”

Finn kisses him deeply before he drops down to his knees, nosing against Poe’s cock. His hands grips Poe’s thighs tight and parts his lips, mouthing over him.

“Finn,” Poe breathes like a curse as Finn’s breath washes hot-wet over him through the tight costume pants. He can’t move with Finn’s hands on him, even straining up against him as his head falls back against the door.

Finn pulls at his pants, sliding them down his thighs. His eyes are half-shut and he looks blissful. Lips drag over Poe’s tight boxers, wrapping around his half-hard cock through the fabric. Poe gasps his name again, his voice shaking into a groan at the end as Finn mouths at him and then there is the damp-hot slide of tongue through fabric and Poe is jerking up, shoving a hand over his mouth. “There could-- be people out there, fuck, Finn—”

“We’re in your house, Poe,” Finn says with a deep laugh. He pulls Poe’s boxers down unceremoniously, trapping them around his knees. Eyes skate over Poe’s cock and a long groan escapes him.

“Yeah, by the door,” Poe protests thinly. He winds both hands around Finn’s head, tugging at him. Finn laughs warmly and wraps his lips wrap around the head of Poe’s cock. As Poe’s protests fracture on his tongue, Finn sucks gently, his expression slack. His tongue flicks lightly under the head, and Poe’s entire body jerks with the sensation sparking along his nerves. Finn stays steady with just the tip of Poe’s cock resting on his tongue, his eyes locked on Poe’s face. Poe wants to press forward; Finn’s hands on his thighs hold him neatly in place. He presses fingers into the back of Finn’s neck instead, whining under his breath. “Finn. Buddy. Please. You’re gonna kill me.”

Finn moans and drags his tongue along Poe’s slit. Blunt nails drag down his thighs before he eases forward, taking Poe’s cock deeper and deeper into his mouth. His robes puddle around his heels and Poe can see the bare arc of Finn’s shoulders like a parabola, gorgeous and solid. He swallows around Poe, making him gasp. “I was thinking about you,” Poe admits as his cock hits the back of Finn’s throat. “All fucking night, Finn, god—”

Hazy eyes look up at him, full of warmth and affection that makes Poe’s head spin. His mouth is hot and wet, tongue pressing against Poe’s cock with steady pressure. Poe’s thighs tremble with the effort not to thrust forward. He drops his hands to grip Finn’s shoulders, bending forward with a stifled groan as Finn’s nails drag along his skin.

Finn’s teeth scrape just a little over the head of Poe’s cock as he pulls back and pushes forward again and it sends a bolt of heat through Poe.

Poe lets out a tiny, choked sound when Finn presses the tip of one finger at the edge of his ass, just pressing. A hint, teasing. Poe whines shamelessly for it. He won’t last like this. Not with all of Finn’s attention on him and the scrape of teeth sending shivers down his spine. He rocks back into Finn’s hand with a desperate sound, clutching tightly at Finn’s gorgeous solid shoulders keeping him anchored. “Your mouth, Finn—” he gasps, only half-aware of the words spilling from his mouth. “Do you even, do you even know,”

Finn sucks harder, then pulls off of him, looking up at Poe with lips spit-shiny and eyes dark and wide. “I want to fuck you.” Poe’s cock jerks against Finn’s lips.

“Yes,” he says instantly, and smooths his thumb along Finn’s jaw. His skin is slick with saliva. Under Poe’s touch he shivers a little and lists forward like he can’t help himself. Poe feels hazy, like his skin is too tight and everything is reduced to Finn in front of him and wet warm breath on his cock and teasing fingers. “Fuck. Please. Wanna feel you.”

Grinning widely, Finn nips at his thigh. “Yeah. Yeah. Go get your lube.” Poe sucks in a sharp breath, swaying toward him for a moment before Finn pinches his thigh. He swallows and scrambles off the door toward his bedroom.

It takes way too long to find the damn lube where he’d stashed it last time, shoved under the pillows because Poe had been entirely distracted pressing Finn open teasingly slow.

Finn lounges on Poe’s couch, his pants open, robes loose around him. Slowly, he stokes his cock, head fallen back against the couch. For a moment, all Poe can do is stare from the doorway, watching the languid curl of Finn’s fingers, the strong muscles of his thighs shifting as he presses up into his own hand.

Poe is consumed with the sudden and intense desire to lick every inch of him. Silently, he pads over the floor toward Finn. Finn’s eyes open slowly, a smile curving his mouth.

“You’re incredible,” Poe murmurs, sinking down beside him with one knee braced on the couch. He pushes a kiss to the edge of Finn’s jaw, lingering. “And hot as hell. Fuck. Do you even know what you look like right now?”

Finn’s hand moves behind Poe’s neck, tugging him down into a kiss. “Come on, Captain. That uniform looks better off you.”

“I thought it looked pretty good on me,” Poe breathes against his lips, already lifting his arms. Finn’s hands slide up Poe’s stomach, helping him shove the shirt over his head. Finn tosses it behind the couch somewhere and pulls Poe down to push a kiss against his sternum. There’s a tiny part of Poe that wants to take this slow but there’s a much larger part of him that’s hard as hell and wants to feel Finn everywhere, so he flicks open the lube with his free hand and smears it all over his fingers to reach down behind himself. A groan rumbles in Finn’s chest. His hand slips back to meet Poe’s, fingers pressing along with his.

“Oh, you’re gonna help, huh?” Poe gasps, arching his head back. Finn’s fingers . “What a gentleman.”

“It’s only polite,” Finn breathes and nips sharply his throat. Poe lets out a quiet gasp, dropping his head onto Finn’s shoulder instead.

“You can,” he breathes, shivering as Finn scissors his fingers apart. Lube slides slickly down his thighs, warm from Finn’s fingers. “ah, this is fine, Finn—”

“Only fine?” Finn breathes and hooks his fingers until Poe lets out a stream of fluid curses in Spanish and English both, rocking on Finn’s hand. He can’t even focus enough to move his own fingers and gives up, sliding them free to grab at Finn instead. It gives him more leverage to rock back, fucking himself on Finn’s fingers.

“So much,” he groans, low, “so much more than fine.”

“I missed you,” Finn says, his free arm wrapping around Poe’s waist, “I missed your voice. Not your teaching voice. Your voice when we fuck.”

“Oh god,” Poe rolls his hips slow and steady so that Finn’s fingers slide over his prostate, “I, ah, I didn’t realize they were so different—”

“It’s so different,” Finn tells him, helping Poe ride his fingers as he presses a third inside of him. “When we fuck, you, your voice is so present. Like, you’re only thinking about me. Not about space, for once.” Finn is a sweet-talker: Poe found that out pretty damn quick, and promptly made it his personal mission to get Finn to talk as much as possible because his voice sends shivers down Poe’s spine. With a deep groan, Poe shifts just enough that Finn’s fingers can slide deeper and, trusting Finn to hold him up, drops his other hand to wrap around Finn’s cock trapped between them.

“That’s because,” he gasps quietly, sliding his thumb over the slick head, “you’re the only thing I can think about.”

Laughing breathlessly, Finn thrusts into his hand. “Good. I want to, to be the only thing on your mind. I want that, even when we don’t fuck. ‘Cause I think about you more than I want to admit.”

Finn’s muscles move as he pushes up and Poe whines in the back of his throat, his cock jerking hard against his belly. “Better put your money where your mouth is, then,” he breathes, opening his eyes, finally, to meet the dark heat in Finn’s.

“Is that a subtle way of asking me to suck you off?” Finn asks, his fingers twisting.

“I think we got that part down, actually,” Poe’s laughter edges quickly into breathlessness as he arches back. “Fuck me. Quit teasing, or I’m going back to-- to watching shitty movies and eating shitty chocolate.”

“As you wish,” Finn says, pulling him into a deep kiss as his fingers slip out of Poe’s ass. He breaks it only to mumble, “you brought a condom, right?”

“What kind of unprepared asshole do you think I am—” Poe retorts, reaching down onto the couch to produce the one he’d grabbed from his bedroom.

“I thought maybe you were distracted by how hot I am,” Finn tells him, nabbing it out of Poe’s hand. He grins up at Poe as he rips it open.

“Almost constantly,” Poe gasps, going for mournful but interrupted by Finn shifting under him so that Poe slips closer to him. “Don’t take your time on my account, god.”

Finn surges up to kiss him, his hands moving between them to slide the condom over his cock. As soon as it’s on, he grasps Poe’s hips and pulls him forward so he’s hovering over Finn’s lap. “Like this?” He asks, breathless.

“Fuck yes,” Poe groans back, already rocking down so that the head of Finn’s cock nudges at his ass. “Love seeing your face like this.”

Finn grins and positions his cock, thrusting up just a little so the head slips inside of Poe. There he waits, and Poe gasps as he slips so easily down in Finn’s lap until he’s held where he is. Experimentally, he tries to move, but Finn’s got a grip on him and is controlling the angle.

“Oh, come on,” he breathes, meeting Finn’s eyes. Finn presses a gentle kiss to his lips and thrusts hard, his fingers digging into Poe’s hips. He doesn’t stop until Poe is in his lap pressed skin-to-skin and shivering with the fullness of it. Finn’s gaze sears itself into his bones.

“God, you feel good,” Finn breathes, his fingers sliding down, gripping his ass tight. Poe’s breath trips out of him as his cock twitches up against his belly.

Pushing a wet kiss against Finn’s mouth, Poe rolls his hips, slow and easy. “Been a while,” he revels in the drawn-out groan from Finn as he clenches around his cock.

“I know,” Finn helps him up and then thrusts back inside of him. “You gotta take more time off from grading papers. And let me fuck you instead.”

“I’d be a hell of a lot less productive,” Poe rocks forward, clenching around Finn just to hear his breath break in his throat. “I’d do it. Stay with you,” Finn jerks up just a bit and Poe’s own voice cracks, “all fucking day, Finn, every day.”

Finn breath catches. Something raw and open shines in his eyes, his lips parting, expression slack. He doesn’t say anything, but after a second he kisses Poe and his body moves, cock sliding into him hard. Poe has all the leverage here, with his knees digging into the couch and Finn’s thighs strong underneath him. Usually he would tease Finn, take his time, slow and steady until Finn is whining into his mouth but now Poe needs to feel him, so he rocks up hard until just the head of Finn’s cock is inside him and slams back down, braced on Finn’s shoulders. Finn gasps and his arms wrap tight around him, one hand spreading him open.

“Poe,” Finn breathes, kissing him again and again.

“I mean it,” Poe gasps into his mouth, words punctuated by breath as he moves, “every day I think about, about this, about you,”

“Poe,” Finn says again, sounding strangled, burying his face in Poe’s shoulder, his hips snapping as much as they can.

“Even in class,” Poe breathes with heat in his voice, letting his breath slide silk-soft over Finn’s ear as he lifts himself up, “whenever you look down at your notebook, you get this line on your forehead and I want to kiss it, wanna kiss you, make you smile at me.”

Finn doesn’t seem able to respond, but his grip tightens and his body moves, driving into Poe as hard as he can, his costume swaying around them. Grinning, panting, wrapped up in the blunt pressure of Finn’s cock and his breath wet against Poe’s shoulder, Poe continues, “And then I spend the whole rest of the lesson thinking about sucking your cock until you can’t concentrate anymore. ‘S a serious problem y’knoh, fuck,” he breaks off as Finn thrusts up particularly hard, “right there, fuck, Finn, please—”

Finn bites down on his shoulder, a broken sound sliding over Poe’s skin. “You just,” he gasps, and Poe slips a little and slams down harder because of it, making them both gasp unsteadily, “you just don’t wanna grade my papers anymore. Tired of, of me acing them.”

“I could never get tired of your papers, Finn--” Finn yanks him closer, hitching up his thighs so Poe slides down, trapping his cock between them. Every movement Finn makes sends sparks over Poe’s skin, action-reaction as simple as that.

Pulling his head up, Finn smiles at him, soft and strained. Fingers wrap around Poe’s cock, stroking sharply. “Keep talking,” Finn rasps. His fingers are just tight enough to make Poe whine, rocking up into his fist and then down onto his cock in one fluid movement.

“I could talk about you all day,” he breathes, watching Finn’s mouth drop open, swollen still from kisses and wrapping around Poe’s cock earlier, and then he has to kiss Finn just for being so damn hot, rolling his hips slow and steady along Finn’s cock. “How good,” he gasps out, shaky, “your hands feel and how gorgeous you are, fuck, you feel so good when you move like that,”

Finn’s lips crash into his. Finn kisses him like it’s the last thing he’ll ever do, teeth and tongue moving in time with his hips. Poe can’t even lift himself completely anymore, reduced to moving in short sharp thrusts so his ass slaps against Finn’s thighs.

“Tell me one more thing,” Finn begs against his lips, fucking him short and fast with his fingers close to bruising on Poe’s hips. The thin edge of desperation in his voice, more than anything, loosens Poe’s tongue: what comes out is not one thing but everything, all wrung from him by Finn everywhere, inside him hot and hard, surrounding him.

“You’re amazing,” he breathes, “there are times I lie in bed and fuck myself on my fingers and wish it was you and even more times when I think about making you breakfast, for, for, fuck, for real in my kitchen, then fucking you over the table and lazing around like that first time. I want you,” Poe almost sobs, throwing his head back as Finn slams into him, “all the time, Finn, always, please,”

Finn grabs at his hips, gasping, and then goes still and silent as he comes hard, his face shoved into Poe’s shoulder. Poe pushes kisses over and over to whatever bit of skin he can reach, rocking down in short shallow motions to prolong it until Finn slumps and his thighs go slack.

Slowly, Finn’s breathing evens out. He releases Poe’s hips to drag his palms down to Poe’s ass, nudges their faces to kiss him softly. His voice is low when he says, “I want that too. I want to be here, with you, whenever you want me.”

His arms are tight around Poe, helping him sit up until Finn slides wetly out of him. Poe shivers at the emptiness, his own cock leaking and red against his belly. With a tiny smile, Finn pushes him down onto the couch. Poe goes without protest, lets himself be pressed into the soft cushions with his costume bunched around his ankle and Finn’s robes falling over both of them. He keeps up the steady, slow slide of kisses along whatever bit of Finn’s skin he reach, sliding both hands down Finn’s bare spine with fingers spread wide.

Soft, dark eyes focus on him. Finn smiles like he wants to speak, but instead drops his lips to Poe’s throat, then to his chest. Fingers wrap around his cock, stroking slowly because Finn’s mouth opens around the head, sucking sharply. With a sharp groan, Poe grabs at Finn’s shoulders to ground himself. The world narrows: wet heat and Finn’s hands on him pressing him down into the cushions, Finn’s shoulders bumping Poe’s knees. Poe’s already so close to the edge that he’s trembling with it, fingers grasping and sliding along sweat-slick skin. Finn moans thinly and takes Poe deep into his throat, swallowing around him.

“I’m not,” Poe gasps, trying to warn him as everything draws up, his breath only fanning the heat in his belly. Finn’s tongue is everywhere, sliding up under the head of his cock as his fingers press down.

Two fingers slide back into Poe, pressing him open easy and slick. Poe strains up off the cushions and Finn opens his mouth so that Poe’s cock hits the back of his throat. Poe gasps, throws his head back, and as Finn’s fingers curl up into him Poe thrusts once, twice, chasing the desperate heat, and all at once is gone, shouting Finn’s name into the quiet room.

Swallowing around him, Finn stays where he is until Poe slumps back down. With a sigh, Finn drops his head onto Poe’s thigh, fingers teasing his prostate gently until Poe whines from the stimulation of it, goosebumps racing over his skin. Only then does he pull his fingers out, leaving Poe feeling empty and open and too-warm.

“Your mouth,” Poe mumbles when he comes back to himself, lifting his head just enough he can meet Finn’s eyes. “God.”

Finn smiles at him hazily. “You can fuck my mouth any day,” he mumbles, “just, in a minute.”

“More than a minute,” Poe laughs. His voice is slow and slurred, breath still coming quick between syllables. He tugs at Finn’s shoulder. “C’mere. Wanna kiss you.”

With a deep groan, Finn hauls himself up, his Jedi robes still draped around him. He drops heavily on top of Poe and plants a hard kiss on his lips.

“This,” Poe murmurs into his mouth, warm and pliant and tasting still of Poe, “is way better than my other Halloween plans.” Finn’s robes settle over both of them like a blanket. Poe is sticky and sweat-slick but with Finn pressed against him, smiling against his lips—he could stay here for a while.

“We can watch Hocus Pocus now,” Finn mumbles, his tongue sliding over Poe’s lips. The music of the credits plays from Poe’s TV. Humming quietly, Poe folds his arms around Finn to keep him exactly where he is.

“Don’t feel like going back out to party?”

“I really don’t,” Finn sighs, his head dropping to Poe’s bare shoulder. His lips settle over Poe’s still-pounding pulse. “I want to stay here.”

He wonders if Finn can feel his heartbeat against his mouth, the too-quick flutter of emotion Poe’s been staying away from naming. “Stay,” he says, low, skidding kisses along the line of Finn’s cheek. “Stay as long as you want.”

“Yeah?” There’s a smile in the warm huff of breath on Poe’s skin. “Kinda wanna stay here all weekend. Wanna make you waffles and suck you off after coffee.”

Groaning, Poe drops one leg down to the couch so Finn can get closer, squashed against Poe’s side. “Well now you can’t leave.”

“Never said I wanted to,” Finn sighs, and curls around Poe with clear intent not to get up again for a while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It porn.


End file.
